Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on the NCIS: LA/Five-0 Crossover, House, Fringe, Modern Family & More

Will NCIS: LA agent Kensi Blye get flirty in Hawaii? How will the House bromance blossom as we near the end? Which unfortunate events are coming up on Modern Family and Parks and Rec? Read on for those scoops plus other teases from TV’s hottest shows.

NCIS: Los Angeles| In the two-night crossover event kicking off this Monday on Hawaii Five-0 and concluding Tuesday on NCIS: LA, Callen and Sam will collaborate on a case with Five-0 task force members Danny and Chin Ho (played by Scott Caan and Daniel Dae Kim) – but don’t be surprised if Kensi also gets in on the action. And then some. “There’s definitely a lot of banter between everyone, and a little flirtation here and there — maybe even creating a little jealousy on behalf of Deeks,” NCIS: LA‘s Daniela Ruah tells me. Since Chin Ho is newly re-wed, shall we assume that it’s Danny who takes a shine to Ms. Blye’s considerable assets?

House| As one might surmise, tonight’s episode, directed by Hugh Laurie, marks the beginning of the very end for House, as the titular doc and his BFF Wilson take an impromptu vacation together in the wake of the latter’s cancer diagnosis. “The very end of [last week’s episode], through the one I [directed] and really up until the finale, is sort of one journey… and I hope, if we’ve done it right, a fairly tense one,” says Laurie. Both Laurie and scene partner Robert Sean Leonard agree that it’s fitting that their alter egos peel away in this episode, as the series nears its end. “[They] are the only two characters on the show who decide to be together,” Leonard points out. “House works for Cuddy, and the team works for House…. They all have no choice; they have to be together. But House and Wilson actually voluntarily spend time with one another, which is unique to their relationship in this group of people.”

Fringe| Now that we are for sure getting a fifth (albeit final) season, here’s one face you might see pop up in the show’s forever twisty universe: Robin Williams. TV’s erstwhile Mork, who after a long string of big screen outings has in recent years guested on Law & Order: SVU, Louie and, coming up, Wilfred, says Fox’s sci-fi series is at the top of his list to visit next. “My god, Fringe would be amazing,” he told me at the Comedy Awards, where he was honored as a Stand-Up Icon. (Williams also is high on Homeland, though frankly we can only see his bearded self playing Mandy Patinkin’s twin brother.) In fact, the funny man is game to join a TV series on a full-time basis. “F—in’ A, yeah, I’d do it — if it was fun,” he said.

Modern Family| May sweeps will feature a sour moment for Mitchell, when Phil is forced to drop some bad news on his brother-in-law. As Ty Burrell previewed for us at the Comedy Awards (where he took home the prize for Best Performance by a TV Actor), “Mitchell does some legal work for my real estate firm and for whatever reason the partners don’t like him, so I have to fire him.” Yet despite the downer of a reason, Burrell was all smiles about sharing a storyline with Jesse Tyler Ferguson. “Jesse and I don’t get to work together very much,” he noted, “so it was a very fun day.”

Scandal| If you’ve been picking up on a spark of sorts between Abby (played by Darby Stanchfield) and the newly engaged Stephen (Henry Ian Cusick), know that it is by design. “It’s a really interesting relationship that they share,” Cusick notes. “She’s very critical of him and she seems to judge him — and not only him but pretty much everyone.” As for the friendly friction ‘tween the coworkers, Cusick says even more of it was left on the cutting room floor. “Darby would say these lines like, ‘Grow some balls’ — and then she’d smile at me, and I couldn’t help but smile, but that wasn’t in it,” he shares. “It’s all very tricky. Are [our characters] hooking up? What’s happening here? I think [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] is planting stuff all over the place.”

Parks and Recreation |As previously scooped by TVLine, Leslie’s run for office will hit a bump in the season finale, and you can pin the blame on — you guessed it — resident punching bag Jerry. Asked to elaborate on the “mishap,” Jim O’Heir says, “Something that Jerry was supposed to do didn’t happen, and because of it there’s the potential for disaster. He doesn’t do something that was one, obvious, and two, just should have been done.” Meanwhile, in this Thursday’s penultimate episode, you’ll see O’Heir take what was one of about 12 pies to the face, as Andy tries to recreate a “crime” perpetrated at a campaign event. “We had a blast shooting that one,” raves O’Heir. “[Chris] Pratt’s crazy, I’m crazy…. We love doing stuff like that.”

If there’s a show you’d like the Inside Line on, email mattmtvguy@gmail.com, and maybe it’ll get some love the next time around!

Fringe has had some great guest actors, but they all had science fiction street cred: Peter Weller, Christopher Lloyd, Leonard Nimoy to name a few. (Sorry, Mork from Ork isn’t gonna cut it.) I’ll scream if suddenly every celeb in Hollywood wants to be on Fringe now just because its renewal somehow makes it “cooler.” Where were these celebs when Fringe was fighting for its life? At least Simon Pegg told his zillions of fans to watch the show.

Is it really necessary for an actor to have “science fiction street cred” (as you put it) to be a part of the show? That would severly limit the casting pool and we’d lose out on some terrific actors. And neither Anna Torv nor Joshua Jackson were known for their genre work before Fringe. Personally I’ve enjoyed Robin Williams’ dramatic performances when he’s done them – he us creepy as all hell in One Hour Photo – and would love to see him tackle a meaty guest part on Fringe!

Why couldn’t he blend? Robin Williams can be a great character actor as he showed in Insomnia, One Hour Photo, Good Will Hunting, etc. Even if he was doing a doctor like his character for The Fischer King, it could work very well.

Always hated RSL’s analysis of that relationship. Everybody else has always had the choice whether or not to be around House too. Cuddy could have fired him happily with the backing of the Board at any time, and the ducks could have all walked at any time, but they chose not to.

Actually funnily enough Wilson is probably the one person who doesn’t choose to be around House. Every time he’s tried to break away from him, or should have done, House has chased him down and broken his resolve. He’s his enabler and his whipping boy. There’s nothing particularly noble about that.

And yet, he does stay. Clearly that can’t be friendship, or affection even. Because in your mind, Wilson doesn’t have a personality. Obviously you are right and every single Wilson / Hilson / RSL fan is just deluded. Right.
Whereas everyone else just decided to stay because they really, really like House. It wasn’t even a little bit of a career decision for Cuddy to keep him employed, and it’s not even in the slightest anything like that for his team. They just like hanging out with him. It’s his charming personality. Yeah. That makes sense.

Poor RSL. If only he’d realised the consequences of not worshipping Cuddy and Lisa Edelstein when asked about his opinion about the finale. Forever despised by a bunch of vindictive and deluded Huddys. I am sure he’s crying himself to sleep every night.

No, they did NOT choose to be in House’s life, they chose to work in this hospital and in this department. They made it perfectly clear time and time again that they did NOT want to know House on a personal level, just the opposite, they prefered it when he paid as little attention to them as possible outside their job. Cuddy was the exception and it didn’t end well. Except for Cuddy, Wilson was the only one who went out with him to lunches and dinners and watched TV with him and lived with him.

He doesn’t, really. He’s just saying that this is the one relationship that doesn’t involve a contract or a hierarchy. That doesn’t mean that everyone else would just run away from House if they had the chance. Which is quite obvious to everyone who’s watched even a single episode of the series.
There’s no need to interpret everything he says in the worst possible way.

But it’s all working relationships, no matter how friendly they get with each other. House and Wilson are the only one who don’t actually work together, Wilson always stood outside this superior –> subordinate working structure.

Oh geez! Ok..one more time….how many times did House interfere with Cuddy’s personal life, until finally deiciding he wanted to be with her? How many times did House interfere with Cam, Chase, Foreman, 13, Taub etc….Wilson is not the prima diva. If anything he’s the doormat who never learned his lesson.

+1 Wilson is one of the poorest excuses for friend on TV today! Just let House die first b/c of his vicodin addiction first, that’s the real story & one the TPTB choose to ignore. If Wilson truly cared about House, he’d cut off all ties w/him until House got clean for good.

Aww. It’s kind of cute how the Huddys try to make Wilson look bad. Could it have something to do with the fact that he’s still there? And probably will be until the end? With the fact that the Hilsons will get their final House/Wilson ark whereas the Huddys won’t? Could it be…*gasp* jealousy? Sour grapes? o_O

@Mark: No, it’s just Huddys being overly sensitive about everything RSL says, after he had the audacity to have a creative opinion about the finale that wouldn’t include Cuddy. He didn’t say he’s glad that Cuddy’s gone, he didn’t say he’s glad that Edelstein is gone. He didn’t say Wilson is the only person who ever had a relationship with House. All he said was that he thinks the House/Wilson relationship is in a way unique for this show. How does that make him a jerk?

All addicts have them just think about it Micheal Jackson,Whitney Houston,Elvis Presley,John Belushi etc… How unique is that?

Ever wonder why Wilson and House became friends AFTER House’s injury and subsequent addiction. For Christ sake Wilson was writing rxs for House into season 3.
The REAL reason House and Wilson are “FRIENDS” RP is that they are CODEPENDENT. This is a symptom of drug addiction,immaturity,socail ineptedness not true friendship.

@ebowers: Well, you could just argue the same way that Cuddy was House’s enabler. She tolerated a drug addict as a department head in her hospital. She even, if you remember, supplied him with drugs herself. She lied about him stealing drugs. In court. She only drew the line when she was in a relationship with him and realised that he was a terrible choice for someone with a little kid. (Which she was right about btw. Good for her.) And after their relationship when he started on drugs again, she again tolerated him again. Kept him employed. In her hospital. As a department head. KNOWING that he was on drugs.
How’s Wilson worse than her? How’s the House/Wilson relationship worth less than the House/Cuddy relationship was?

I don’t agree with you. Cuddy could have fired House, but he’s the most brilliant diagnostician (at least in this tv-world), so she would have been stupid if she’d fired him. And House is too much of creature of habit to quit. And the ducklings…, well the same reason Cuddy had for not firing him applies for them too. You just don’t quit without a reason when you work for a famous doctor.
It makes perfectly sense what RSL says.

No, Cuddy wouldn’t be stupid for firing a drug addicted loser. She bailed him out time after time, until of course he tried killing her. Ooops my bad, House does have x-ray vision and knew no one was in the living room at the time. Anywho…I’m with the other person on here who said Wilson is no more than a doormat for House & he obviously likes it that way.

If Chevy does leave, somebody on the comments section here gave the best way to do it anyway – not have any of the Characters notice that Pierce is different except Abed. Make it a running joke about TV series changing actors without referencing it.
That would actually make everything the character says so much funnier, since you’ll think of that running joke every time they speak!

Lol RSL is such an idiot! Does he really not remember how many times Cuddy CHOSE to save House from getting fired? Volger arc anyone? Tritter arc anyone?…Hello? Or… how many times the team members (Chase/Foreman for example) CHOSE to stay on House’s team? Guess that’s what happens when you could give a crap less about the show you’ve worked on for 8yrs. Have fun on Broadway RSL ;)

I’ll quote myself: “Cuddy could have fired House, but he’s the most brilliant diagnostician (at least in this tv-world), so she would have been stupid if she’d fired him…. And the ducklings…, well the same reason Cuddy had for not firing him applies for them too. You just don’t quit without a reason when you work for a famous doctor.” Not that hard to understand, is it?

And yet numerous Deans in other hospitals either got rid of him, or refused to hire him because he was too high-risk. The reasons that Cuddy kept him working for her were just as much personal as they were professional. Aside from the fact they already knew each other when she hired him, Vogler and Tritter gave her perfectly valid reasons why he shouldn’t be there, but when push came to shove she knew full well his addiction would probably get worse if he didn’t have his puzzles to distract him. That was a choice to put her job and her well-being on the line for a friend who was also a good doctor.

As for the ducks, well their connection with him isn’t purely professional. Look at his reaction to Amber and Kutner’s deaths.

You know what’s hilarious? The RSL quote is very old. Recycled from a different interview. Like, really. I *think* it’s from the end of Season Four, after Amber died. And btw, back then it didin’t illicit such a crazy response. But then, that was before RSL offended all the crazy Huddies!

Who cares about Cuddy..,she gone..and NOT coming back either…so with 4 episodes left..we can have a very fitting/intense finale about House’s last journey without crappy melodrama of a possible last minute reconciliation or forgiveness storyline..it’s not worth it…
And honestly, I rather they end a bit like the pilot…
Where after the teaser and at the end, the only 2 person we saw was House & Wilson…so whatever happens in the end, I want these two..(or obviously “IF” Wilson died bfore him) it’s House I want to see..Alone, but kind of in peace with himself, as he probably lean against a tree near Wilson’s grave bfore embarking into a new journey, leaving his job (retiring) and take a long long trip elsewhere…(in Europe or in heaven…)

Robin Wiliams on “Fringe”? Yes, please. Your mention of Cuddy made think of how much I loved that character. She was awesome. She brightened up the show for me. I miss her. Eh, it’s all moot at his point anyway, tho. Just thought I’d throw some love out there for a great character. As always, thanks for all the hard work you do here, Matt.

Well, and then House decided not to be in Cuddy’s life anymore, thus making Cuddy totally unnecessary for the finale. Why don’t LE fangirls get that? Maybe you can get your brains checked now that House ends LMAO

No, actually it was Cuddy who decided to dump House. He would have been with her forever. Wilson is the only thing he has left but just because his first choice didn´t want anything to do with him, the poor thing.

No, he doesn’t. House is based on Sherlock Holmes, for Holmes (House) Watson (Wilson) has always been the one constant in his life, someone on whom he could always count. And the execs said that they never intended for House and Cuddy to stay together. Even if LE stayed with the show, House and Wilson’s friendship would’ve been the one relationship that survived everything.
So, yeah, no need to bash RSL just because he intereprets his character’s relationship with House the way the exec planned it.

“And the execs said that they never intended for House and Cuddy to stay together”
And this became their biggest mistake! Because they destroyed not just their relationship but three years character development too…

“Since Chin Ho is newly re-wed” My understanding was this was Chin’s first marriage. He broke off the first engagement when he took the fall for something his uncle had done and was fired from HPD. Chin and Malia re-ignited their relationship, got re-engaged, then married.

And even at work! House decided who he wanted to be part of his team. And each one of the team decided if he/she wanted to be there,
And obviously Cuddy decided she wanted to hire House and House decided he wanted to work for her.
And after work…he wanted to be with Cuddy and Cuddy wanted to be with House…it was their choice, it wasn’t an obligation.
What did happen with RSL? Wilson-House friendship wasn’t the only one real in the series!!!

Dear Robert Sean Leonard why don´t you put a sock in your mouth and stop talking BS? Seriously, this man must have some kind of brain damage because everytime he opens the mouth bread gets more expensive.

Are we so sure this is not an older quote by RSL injected to make it seem it is current.? We’ve seen this numerous times before haven’t we?. There is nothing wrong with the quote in that the primary reason for House and Wilson to be together is friendship, brothers of a sort even, while his other relationships are work based first., then maybe friendship is secondary. He is not just a commodity to Wilson.

And yours will be too with no where to be a bitter trolls like all of you are well known.
Because your ship sank and pretty much nobody gives a D** and the producers of the show could care less of all your hateful tweets and cry cry actitud.
Yet you all still here bashing on another actor, But ofcourse where else you bunch will go………. ( like moths to flames to every articule of house even the ones that had not mention of her, like the other one last week) if the are not news of your godness anywhere.

Am I the only one who thinks that RSL didn’t watch House ever? I mean, What does he think about House? So, in his opinion, Wilson is the only one who really was with House because he wanted, and, of course, Wilson is the only person House wanted to be who…mmm…Seriously? Lately when I read about what RSL says I feel if he is jokng or something. But today was just unbeliable. It is imposible that someone who was following this series for more than seven years now really thinks that way. So I definitely thinks that, as he already said, it is only business from him, so he only shot his scenes and no more knows about the series he worked. We watch House as entertaiment, for him it was only a job, so probably he even don’t know what happened half of time in the show. I think this is the only way we can explain his lack of understanding about this show.
Well, I am a big fan of this show and I can say:
1. The team decided to work for House AND House really decided who he wanted to be there for him. So it was a choice made for all. They were together because they wanted. And when someone didn’t want to be there…left…
2. And the more important thing: Cuddy was House’s boss because she wanted. House was Cuddy’s employee because he wanted. Also Cuddy and House were friends because both wanted. AND they were lovers because they wanted. Nobody put a knife in the neck of either of them. They WANTED to be with each other, they HAD NOT to be with each other.
3. It is not true that the only true relationship in the series was the House-Wilson one.
I used to admire RSL and I like Wilson, but his latest declarations are just…insulting…for a big part of the audience. Do not try to sell me that, because I know this series! I didn’t create it, I just watched it since the Pilot…I like the friendship between House an Wilson, but this is not the only that really exist here!

I think what Robert meant was that Wilson and House never worked FOR each other, Cuddy then Foreman were technically House’s bosses at some point. The rest of the doctors technically all worked FOR House. I don’t think Robert is saying none of them were friends or didn’t hang out,

“House works for Cuddy, and the team works for House…. They all have no choice; they have to be together. But House and Wilson actually voluntarily spend time with one another, which is unique to their relationship in this group of people.”
I understand the same that Hanna M. here. He is saying the rest of people “have no choice to be together” and that is not true. All of them made the decision of being with House, ones only for work and others in personal level too, and even in love level, as Cuddy did.

I also think this is what he meant because he’s said it in other occasions (that H and W are the only characters not working for each other) and it’s true. But the way he worded it here wasn’t the best IMO. He seems to imply H and W are the only ones who have a relationship outside work and it’s not true if you consider that H and C also chose to be together in S7.
TBH I have the feeling this is just an old quote, also because he sould’ve said House works for Foreman, not Cuddy.

he’s not discrediting the team/Cuddy’s places in House’s life, he’s saying that House and Wilson are the only ones that don’t work for each other and that (save for season 7 with Cuddy) Wilson is the only one House spends time with OUTSIDE OF WORK. how do you all manage to get your panties into a twist over something he’s been saying for years? move on already, jesus.

Thanks for the Scandal scoop, Matt. I’m kind of glad Shonda left some stuff on the cutting room floor for now. There’s so much going on in each episode plot-wise that I like the slower reveal of the characters and their relationships with each other. That said, I picked up on the Abby/Stephen in the first two episodes, and I wouldn’t mind her picking the thread up next season.

This is just the stupidity of Hilsons!Yes there are some mention to Sherlock Holmes,because that is Shore’s favourite!But House and Holmes not the same! Just some things:House and Wilson never investigated together,Holmes had not team,Holmes and Watson wasn’t real friends etc!

Of course they aren’t exactly the same, House is based on Holmes, it’s not an exact remake of it. House and Wilson have been compared to Holmes and Watson by numerous people on the show, including David Shore himself